Easy one for you.. is this a seized / seizing caliper?

[Jim 2]

Hi folks.. my drive to work this morning couldn't help but think that something smelt funny.. that and the car was struggling to accelerate, and I was getting pants fuel economy..

 

Got to work and had a quick feel around the wheels and the front left was rather warm (where the others were stone cold) and was steaming a bit.. and absolutely stunk. Fairly clear case of a fubar caliper?

[mrbeige 0]

I would expect so Jim yes. Did you notice any pulling to that side of the car?

[Toad 0]

I would suspect the slider pins being rusty and sticking.

 

The pins can be a bugger to get out, but it can all be rebuild with new seals etc easily enough.

[dr_mat 0]

Did you put new disks/pads on recently? I heard that the carriers can get "notched" from the movement of the old pads, and the new wider pads get stuck in the notch and this can result in sticky brakes.

[Jim 2]

Nope.. Not changed anything down there for a while, and did not have anything noticable happening like it pulling. I just noticed mid way through my drive that the car seemed slow and lazy to speed up when i put my foot down, and that it was slowing down quite quickly when letting off the gas!

[Toad 0]

It wouldn't take long to check over. hour, hour and a half maybe.

 

You would need a jack, a 13 and a 15mm spanner, possibly a hammer, scraper/screwdriver, emery cloth and copper grease.

[Jim 2]

Well as i dont even own a jack at this point (really must buy one), got it booked into a really local trusted garage tomorrow morning.. Will see what they come up with and report back. Hope its nothing too serious :(

[vwdeviant 0]

Fronts don't normally sieze esp on daily driven cars.. As they do most of the work and aren't left on like the handbrake...

 

Something else to consider is an internal breakdown in the flexy pipe.. they will sometimes go internally before you see an obvious bulge outside.. this means the fluid can't flow back and results in a sticky caliper... Only seen that once though...

[Dub_nut_g60 0]

I would suspect the slider pins being rusty and sticking.

 

The pins can be a bugger to get out, but it can all be rebuild with new seals etc easily enough.

 

As Toad will agree this is exactly what happened to one of my front brakes it seized and failed the MOT, the slider pin boot thingy was split so i guess a small amount of water had got in and rusted the pin so it wouldnt slide freely.

 

Took the caliper off, cleaned up the pin and re greased and its all fine now.

 

I've noticed quite an improvement in the performance and fuel economy since then!

[Jim 2]

Well here's hoping that its just the pins!

 

Good timing though as i've got a full set of braided hoses i've been wanting to put on the car - this is a good opportunity to get the fronts done at least! :)

[Guest]

Sounds just like mine a month ago. Short journey, half way through car didn't seem to want to move. In neutral engine reved fine, in gear drove like a slug.

Crept off the M4 at 45 mph. Pulled up at RAC windscreen for chip repair and front near side tyre and alloy baking.

 

AA freed it up a bit and crept home. New calipers from VW and I now have what Kip laughingly refers to as two-tone brakes.

 

Good luck. Don't you just love em.

[Critical_Mass 10]

While we're on the subject of calipers...

 

Can the rubber seal for the caliper pistons be bought seperately or is it a full caliper jobby? Mine is torn and is leaking fluid.

 

Sorry to jack your thread Jim.

 

 

Gaz

[Jim 2]

No probs :) Makes sense to bunch a load of stuff together rather than start multiple threads :)

[Toad 0]

While we're on the subject of calipers...

 

Can the rubber seal for the caliper pistons be bought seperately or is it a full caliper jobby? Mine is torn and is leaking fluid.

 

Sorry to jack your thread Jim.

 

 

Gaz

 

The seal kits can be bought from vw and are fairly easy to fit. Well worth doing. front calipers just need the piston pulling out, tidying up and seals popping in, the rears need the piston unwinding from the handbrake mech, and the handbrake mech cleaning up/lubing.

 

Edit. Have a look at this post

[Critical_Mass 10]

Cheers guys,

 

The handbrake mechanism, im guess youre meaning the handbrake adjustment? Where is it on the rado?

[Jim 2]

The garage has been on the phone today and said that the caliper seems fine now that he's took it off and cleaned it all out - said there was a lot of corrosion in there which probably caused it to stick on. Phew.

[Toad 0]

Jim would be worth asking them to change the slider pin boots if they are not A1 condition, save any more hassle in the future.

 

 

Cheers guys,

 

The handbrake mechanism, im guess youre meaning the handbrake adjustment? Where is it on the rado?

 

No, the handbrake mech...

 

The cables attach to a lever on the rear calipers, the spindle of which corrodes and jams the handbrake. If you remove the return spring (be V careful, and it's a mare to refit) you can pull the handbrake mech spindle out of the caliper very slightly, then wire brush it, and lube it up to stop rust forming in the future.

 

The handbrake adjustment is at the bottom of the handbrake lever. to access it, remove the handbrake handle, and both surrounds, then unscrew the rear centre bolster, loosen the 4 plastic plugs either side of the transmission tunnel, and the centre peice will lift out. use 2x 8 or 10mm spanners to adjust the cables accordingly.

 

 

Tom.

[Critical_Mass 10]

Jim would be worth asking them to change the slider pin boots if they are not A1 condition, save any more hassle in the future.

 

 

Cheers guys,

 

The handbrake mechanism, im guess youre meaning the handbrake adjustment? Where is it on the rado?

 

No, the handbrake mech...

 

The cables attach to a lever on the rear calipers, the spindle of which corrodes and jams the handbrake. If you remove the return spring (be V careful, and it's a mare to refit) you can pull the handbrake mech spindle out of the caliper very slightly, then wire brush it, and lube it up to stop rust forming in the future.

 

The handbrake adjustment is at the bottom of the handbrake lever. to access it, remove the handbrake handle, and both surrounds, then unscrew the rear centre bolster, loosen the 4 plastic plugs either side of the transmission tunnel, and the centre peice will lift out. use 2x 8 or 10mm spanners to adjust the cables accordingly.

 

 

Tom.

 

Cheers Tom, ill bear that in mind when i come to fit the new seal.

 

 

Gaz